Carthage

Carthage is an ancient city-state in what is now Tunisia. It began as a Phoeniciancolony. In the Aeneid, an old story by Vergil, Aeneas visited Carthage. He made the Queen of Carthage, Dido, angry and she killed herself as she loved him but he was going to leave her. Carthage at the height of its power was the foremost power in the Mediterranean Sea, controlling parts of Spain, Sicily, North Africa, Sardinia, and the Balearic islands.

Carthage was a rival for Mediterranean Sea power for the Roman Republic, who wanted to take over the whole Mediterranean Sea. Carthage was a large obstacle to that. So, in 264 BC, the Romans responded to a plea for help by some rebels in Messina, and landed an army in Sicily. The Roman Empire then invaded the Carthaginian holdings in Sicily, confounding the Carthaginian generals Attempts to halt their advance. Even at sea, the Romans were able to copy the Carthaginian bireme ships and win several major victories on the sea, despite Carthage seafaring tradition, and Rome's relative inexperience in that field. Finally, a general named Hamilcar took up the Carthaginian defense in place of the decidedly older, less energetic Hanno. Hamilcar immediately realized the futility of meeting the superior roman army in open battle, so he decided to use hit-and-run raids to wear down the Romans. This tactic was slightly more effective against the slow, heavily armored roman troops. Eventually, however the Romans were able to take lilybaeum, the Carthaginian's main stronghold in Sicily, effectively ending Carthages power in Sicily and ending the First Punic War.